Seat Ireland has appointed a new brand director after the departure of Adam Chamberlain to the Fiat Group in the UK. Cian O’Brien becomes the first Irishman to head the brand since it came under the control of VW Group Ireland, in 2010.
The 34-year-old joins Seat from Audi Ireland, where he was general manager for aftersales. He previously worked with brands such as Renault, Lexus and BMW. He arrives in the midst of an upheaval in the Seat brand. Following several years of relatively lacklustre sales, the brand secured €20 million from its parent company to increase its share in Ireland to 3.5 per cent by 2015.
O’Brien says: “The Seat brand is one of the most underrated of any brand on sale in Ireland today, but we are confident that, with the new product and ambitious network plans that are already in place, the future is very bright for the brand here.”